The Forgotten
by Phoebe Halliwell
Summary: The height of war and some people are not where you'd expect them to be, everyone must ask themselves who they are loyal too and whether they stick by family or not, Draco is torn between his love for another and following his father as everyone expects.
1. Chapter 1

**The Forgotten**

Chapter one

Malfoy Manor stood looking as cold and domineering as it always had and forever would do the four occupants of the castle like home had all gathered in the front sitting room on the second floor that Narcissa always referred to as the family room; however they very rarely spent any time in there as a family.

Draco thought it laughable that they even had a family room at all in the manor, Malfoy's were not exactly known for their love and compassion towards anyone let alone family. He had been avoiding both his mother and his father ever since his little sister had been conceived and born while he was twelve.

Alexandra was now five years old and was adorable and well mannered, speaking only when spoken too and fearing Lucius' belt just has Draco had when he had been young. She was mummy's little girl whereas Draco was the heir to the fortune and the family name.

Mother and daughter were extremely close; Draco adored his mother and vice versa but Lucius forbid closeness between them as he claimed it would turn his son odd. As a child he had never understood what his father had meant when he said 'odd' in such a way but now it was all too clear to him.

Lucius Malfoy had not wanted his only son turning gay; however what he did not know was that it was already too late and it wasn't over exposure to his mother that had turned him this way, it was emerald green eyes and wind swept hair matched with unimaginable confidence and courage.

His father however was never to find out and Draco's love for the man he couldn't have was never to be, his betrothed wife was a teenager from an upper class French family, she had attended the Triwizard Tournament with her elder sister when Draco was fourteen and she had been eleven.

Fleur's sister Gabrielle who looked young for her age, he remembered her looking no more than eight in his fourth year when really she had been eleven, their marriage was due to take place the day after Gabrielle's seventeenth birthday in three years time. Until that time the two of them were officially engaged and 'getting to know each other' or so Lucius had decided when Gabrielle's parents had agreed to the marriage.

There was no backing out now, Lucius had not been happy when Gabrielle's older sister had accepted the marriage proposal of a Weasley, he had had a mind to call the whole thing off but even though Draco had hoped and prayed that this would be the case it had not come to pass.

Draco was to graduate from Hogwarts and enter into the Ministry of Magic as an apprentice to Mafalda Hopkirk who was head of the Improper Use of Magic Office. Lucius had not wanted his son to become an Auror nor had he wanted his son to become an unspeakable, to earn the most amount of money with the least amount of work that was what Lucius Malfoy desired for his son.

Draco's entire life had been planned out for him and Alexandra's too, Draco's baby sister would no doubt be married off to a wealthy pureblood wizard where she would play the role of loyal wife and devoted mother but nothing more. Draco knew the life that his sister would have, she would have the same role in life as his mother, Narcissa and even of Gabrielle when the time came.

All of this splendour and wealth and still they were all empty headed morons who knew very little about modern life. Witches and Wizards it seemed were stuck in medieval times with no way out, their thinking and laws remaining ancient and untouched.

Draco hated it all, in the world where muggle borns and half bloods were accepted into society without a single disapproving look that said 'we're so much better than you.' In that world Draco would be able to openly have feelings for the man he desired, the man he craved to touch and to hold.

Draco wished to be lost in a sea of frenzied emotions, he desired to lose control and not have to think from one day to the next, Draco longed for freedom of this world of black and white where nothing that differed from their medieval ways were acceptable and the punishments for straying from old traditions were to be disowned and left penniless on the street.

To choose between a life of rags compared to one with joyous riches there are so few that would chose the former, for currency is the currency of the realm. There are those with and those without, nothing could be simpler.

Those with attend elaborate balls and sit comfortable in grand manor houses while served platters upon platters of food fit for royalty while those without watch as their five children share one bed and they cry themselves to sleep worrying where their next meal will be coming from.

In such modern times no one can claim that things are as bad as that, society isn't how it once was, circumstances have evolved and no one is left to starve but the rich continue to sit comfortable eating enough to feed three or even four people in one go and disposing of the leftovers in the most wasteful way.

Draco had struggled with this choice from the age of twelve, although he had admired the boy he loved at eleven the emotions could never have fully developed into love in such a short space of time and at such a young age. It was in his second year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, just after Christmas that he had the realisation that the ache he constantly felt deep within his chest was love.

However if Draco chose to abandon his family, his mother, his father and his sister there would never be any guarantee that this great love that he felt would ever be returned leaving him not only penniless but sorrowful also, wallowing in a bottomless pit of depression with no money in order to drink away such sorrows was not a position to find oneself in.

So Draco suffered through it, tomorrow he would be attending his final year at Hogwarts and he hoped that this final year would be more fruitful than the last. He had three entire years before he became a husband and perhaps four before he became a father.

His worries were not of the war that loomed over the wizarding world like a dark rain cloud that threatened to pour, the Malfoy family had good standing on both sides and did not fear the end result but for the past six years Draco had watched as the on going battle etched away at the man he cared for so deeply, moulding him from the shy and awkward eleven year old boy that he had first met at Madame Malkin's all those years ago and turning him into a fighter, a warrior, a champion.

So full of confidence, 'so like his father' or so Severus claims whenever he has the chance, 'strutting around the castle as if he owns it' he would say, 'he may as well own it, he has Dumbledore at his beck and call.' The Potions master would say this with such bitterness that Draco would be taken aback but he would never ask questions.

He may not have been a little boy any longer but that did not mean that he did not fear his father's belt nor his godfather's hand. Both men had ensured that he was raised, not as a pampered little prince that would no doubt fall at every hurdle but a strong and capable young man who would one day take over as head of the Malfoy family.

Draco was trapped by his emotions, by what he knew to be the right path and what he knew to be the easy path. It was his choice as to which path he chose to follow, he had to make the decision; no one else could make it for him.

Unlike Harry Potter he did not have friends he could confide his secrets in, Blaise had so often betrayed him and Pansy would no longer speak to him since she found out that he was not her betrothed. Crabbe and Goyal were worthless, they hardly ever responded when he spoke to them, after third year he had just given up.

Draco would never trust a Slytherin, it was an unwritten rule. They were cunning and they were sly. Slytherin's took what they wanted for their own personal gain no matter the consequences for others. They were arrogant and vain, they know that they have what everyone else wants, money and power but the worst thing is they flaunt it and laugh at the unfortunate.

Harry never did that, he was rich and belonged in higher class society, Draco offered it all to him on the first day of school and yet he turned him down. He was caring and courageous, everything that Draco was not, Harry had the capability to love everyone, even those who could not see the good in themselves and that was the slim hope that Draco clung to so desperately. He needed for Harry to see the good in him, his ability to change and to become good, for if Harry Potter could not see it then his logic dictated that is cannot be there at all.

The following morning Draco found himself boarding the Hogwarts express, his mother and father had not bothered to accompany him to the station on his final year, he was deemed old enough to take care of himself.

Over the heads of many students he spotted a mass of red hair and knew it to be the full Weasley clan, right at the centre was a mess of black that could only be the one and only Harry Potter. Draco's gaze lingered for only a moment before Blaise, Crabbe and Goyal joined him and ushered him onto the train, into an empty compartment.

Draco barely spoke throughout the entire journey, he did not make is way through the train so to find and taunt Harry Potter and his friends, he did not have the strength to do so, he was physically and emotionally tired of the fighting, he knew that Harry had enough to battle against without adding him to the equation. His companions noticed this strange turn of events but did not question it, but his unusual quietness made them all a little suspicious.

They had never seen Draco so withdrawn before, from their points of view everything was on track for Draco, they could not figure out why he was acting as if he was unhappy. He had a fiancé from a family of high standing and great wealth, he was already well prepared to take over the family fortune and the position of head of the family and yet he seemed so depressed.

It was as they were nearing their destination that Blaise took him aside from the others, he was not going to have his friend ruin the secure life that he had ready built for him. Blaise would have done anything to be in the same position as Draco. He did not come from money, his family was not poor but they weren't rich either, his marriage would not be arranged and he would inherit nothing but gambling debts from his father. He refused to allow Draco to throw it all away.

"Whatever it is that is on your mind Draco forget about it." Blaise whispered, his tone of voice holding a certain amount of warning in it. "All it's going to do is ruin your life, a life that many would aspire to lead so do not fuck it up."

"I don't know what the fuck your talking about Blaise, what I do with my life is my own business and has got fuck all to do with you. Just because you're jealous that I have a fiancé and a fortune to inherit does not mean that you can play mind games with me so I lose it all."

"I'm not the one playing mind games here Draco, I know the way you look at them, you envy them, you want to be a Gryffindor and if your father knew you would lose everything you have. Are you really going to put everything you have at risk because you're scared?"

"I'm not scared and I don't want to be one of them, but I don't exactly want to be one of you any more either and I don't care if you tell my father or not because he can't touch me here."

"You're a fool if you think you can walk away from it all, your family, your responsibilities, we are all expected to fight in this war, side by side, you included, He'd kill you before you could beg for your life."

"I never said I was going to walk away from anything and I know perfectly well my position in this war, I do not need reminding of that from anyone, especially not an egotistic prat such as yourself. I know what we're fighting against and if you're delusional enough to believe that we could actually win then more fool you."

"You doubt the great power of the Dark Lord, there was once a time when you would not question him or his strength, we will win this war and we will see the death of Harry Potter, if you doubt him or even think about walking away from this again then Snape will be the first to know. How long do you think it'll be before your father hears of your traitorous behaviour?"

With one swift motion Draco had grabbed hold of Blaise's robe collar and had pinned him to the compartment wall. "How dare you threaten me, I am not the only one with doubtful thoughts, I have heard you as you sleep, you fear death and you fear him, you are pathetic, you have no place to stand by the Dark Lord's side and say you worship him and adore him, you are nothing but fearful and pitiable, a coward."

"I am no coward" Blaise declared as Draco removed his hold on him, it seemed that every Slytherin had their secrets whether it was traitorous or doubtful or even fear it was there. No witch or wizard on the side of the Dark Lord was an exception, everyone knew what the likely out come of this war would be and it would not favour them.

"It seems that I am not the only one who doubts the Dark Lord's ability." Draco snarled at him, "If my father hears of this then have no doubt that I will not be the only one that suffers for idle thoughts."

Not another word was spoken between the two, not even when the five Slytherin's clambered into a carriage together to be taken up to the great castle that loomed over them in the darkness. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyal were all too involved in their own more trivial worries to notice that there was massive amounts of tension between two of their number.

As dinner commenced after the traditional sorting Draco sat idly playing with the food he had spooned onto his plate, his appetite had escaped him on the train journey, he could not bear to look at his fellow Slytherin's, who would betray him in a heartbeat. Instead he focused his gaze upon the one he craved, the one he yearned for.

His laugh, his smile, Harry had changed a lot over the years, no longer did he wear his hideous round glasses that had been spellotaped together on so many occasions. His emerald eyes shone magnificently even from across the Great Hall. From the pictures plastered all over Witch Weekly last year he knew that his body had been moulded to perfection, all the quidditch practices and long hours of training he did in order to be in the right shape to defeat Voldemort when the moment arrived.

He was something to be admired and envied and yet pitied all at the same time, Harry Potter had had a life that no young boy should have to live, orphaned at the age of one and constantly in danger because a prophecy marked him as the saviour of the wizarding world and through it all he still kept smiling.

Draco prayed that his life would become easier when he left this damn school, when he was away from Harry Potter, maybe then he could forget him and get on with his life, get married have children, do what everyone expected of him. It wasn't what he wanted but it was what was expected.

That night Draco sat alone in the Slytherin common room, thoughts wove in and out of his mind, a determination to shout to the world about his feelings towards Harry Potter. However it was all very well and good to make such decisions when wrapped in a blanket and sitting before a roaring fire where nothing can touch you, the real world is a different thing all together.

So filled with inner turmoil he took a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write it all down. He began with: _I am the forgotten. One of those discarded by the light._ He had no idea where the words were coming from but it felt good to turn his feelings into words written down on a piece of parchment so he continued.

_They pass freely each day they are the chosen and we are the ignored, born to the wrong parents, those who have fallen off the path and are lost, are we never to find our way? A guiding light is all I ask and yet it seems too much. But I do not ask it for myself for I am far beyond saving; I ask it for my sister who will suffer greatly in this world if she is not shown the way. _

_What are we to do, our screams of agony are ignored, no one will even look our way, so many of us can not be saved, we wait to die whether it be at the hand of our master or our saviour. _

Draco looked horrified at what he had written but knew that it was true. He did not sign his name for he knew what he was to do with this letter. At the break of day Draco was to be found in the owlery attaching the letter to a tawny school owl that waited patiently for him to tie the roll of parchment to its leg.

He may never be able to be happy in this world and he may even die before his eighteenth birthday and his love never be returned but if that was what destiny planned for him then so be it but he would not allow his sister to befall the same fate as he.

The letter was received that morning at breakfast; Draco saw the tawny owl sweep down to deliver the letter to Harry Potter so he would finally see what was going on around him. Blaise watched him suspiciously wanting to know what had captured Draco's attention so magnificently. It was then he saw Harry Potter.

Outside of the Great Hall he grabbed hold of Draco's arm and dragged him into an old and unused class room, slamming the door behind him. "You feel for him!" Blaise stated out right, "And do not deny it, I see you watching him always."

Draco said nothing for he knew it to be true, he may have had a way with words but there was no chance that he would ever talk himself out of this one, Blaise had discovered his deepest, darkest secret, it was only a matter of time until Severus heard of it and then his father.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself, or are you too ashamed to speak?" Blaise almost shouted, Draco turned and cast a silencing spell on the door so their conversation would not be over heard.

"Is it any of your concern, I have already told you that I know my place in this war and that it will never change, I will not walk away from my duties." Draco stated, he did not give Blaise a direct answer, he could not, he would not spill his inner most desires for this teenager to see.

"So sending the sodding boy-who-lived love notes is no concern of mine? You have betrayed us beyond what anyone thought possible, Snape will have to hear of this."

Draco's heart sank, this conversation would be his downfall, there was no doubt about that. "Do what you must but I stand by my feelings and also by what I said, I will not back out of this war, I am a fighter, whatever happens next I will deal with it the way I was brought up to deal with it, I am a Malfoy after all."

"When your fathers hears that his only son and heir is queer you really think that you will remain a Malfoy?" Blaise said with a tone of mocking in his voice. "I think you're the one whose deluded, what did the letter say?"

"What does it matter?" Draco questioned, he wasn't about to tell Blaise this no matter what he did to him, that letter was personal, he'd only sent it to Harry in hopes that he could some day live a better life than the one he lived now.

"It matters because we cannot afford for Harry Potter to interfere with us Slytherin's whether that be to become romantically attached to one or to just sniff around, it cannot be done, now tell me what was in that letter."

"Screw you Blaise, run off and tell my godfather everything that I have done but I'm going to Dumbledore, I hate all of this, its bullshit, it's all bullshit! This life is worthless without freedom and we don't have that, don't you see that, we are all trapped in what our parents want for us, it's not a life we should be forced to lead and I refuse to do so."

"Do you really think that the great Albus Dumbledore can protect you now? If the Dark Lord wants you dead then nothing will stop him, what makes you think that he'll even believe you, you are nothing but the son of a deatheater to him."

"I have to trust in something and believe me when the time comes for us to stand up and fight my place won't be next to my parents on the side of the Dark Lord, it'll be right next to Harry Potter whether he gives a damn about me or not that is where I will stand."

"I can't let you walk out of here Draco, not to betray us all." Blaise said whipping out his wand and pointing it at Draco, "I won't let you do it."

Draco just stared at him, his wand pointing directly at his throat, in a split second Draco had knocked Blaise's hand away and punched him in the gut and then once around the jaw for good measure.

"No one tells me what to do." Draco said as he turned on his heel and stormed from the room heading directly to the headmaster's office. Classes had just started and the corridors were empty, he was supposed to be in Transfiguration with the Gryffindor's however he knew if he went there even to get a glimpse of Harry he would never make it to Dumbledore's office so he strode on with a new found determination.

He discovered once he had arrived that Harry was already present in the Headmaster's office, both seemed unsurprised at seeing him there, in Dumbledore's hand was the letter Draco had written last night.

"I had to know." Was all that Harry said, Dumbledore looked sadly at his golden boy with a faint smile. Draco was astonished that Harry had cared so greatly about the writer of the letter that he had taken it straight to the headmaster so he could find out.

"Mr Malfoy, what processed you to write such a letter in the first place?" Dumbledore removed the parchment from Harry's grip and read the contents, "Do you truly believe that you have been forgotten?"

"Yes Sir, I do, I believe that all us Slytherin's have been forgotten, not many would change now in fact I believe that I am the only one willing to but it may be the case that we are all far beyond saving now." Draco rolled up his sleeve and showed both Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore where the Dark Mark had been branded.

Both had the decency to look shameful, they had not known the extent of Voldemort's grip upon the older Slytherin students in the school.

"Which other students have been branded with this mark?" Harry asked, Draco glanced to him and saw a flame of green fury deep within his eyes, now he knew why everybody admired him and supported him.

"Pansy, Crabbe, Goyal, Blaise, Millicent, most students in seventh year." Draco said and the headmaster sighed, he had not known; the old man who irritated everyone because he knew far too much for his own good had had no idea.

"In your letter you mentioned a guiding light, someone to show you the way, who is it that you refer to?" Harry asked, it surprised Draco that even without the parchment in his hand he could quote from the words, he had clearly read it many a time since he had received it at breakfast.

"Who else is there but you, I realise that we haven't been friends but you have saved us from this war so many times already, you never give up." Draco said; it was far from what he really wanted to say to the teen but he reframed, sure that Harry would dismiss him without a second thought.

"Where is your sister now Mr Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, "You mentioned that you wanted her to be 'shown the way' did you not."

"Alexandra is five Sir, she remains with my mother and father at the Manor, if you were given permission to raid it I would give you all the information you needed to arrest my father, where he stores his darker magical items and books."

"Why are you so keen for us to arrest your father, I realise that it would have a great amount of use to us taking him away from Voldemort but he is your father, there must be some gain for you." Harry said, "I am sorry to be suspicious but I must know."

"It's understandable and I am eager for him to be detained because Blaise has noticed a shift in my behaviour, he is smart and figured out the reasons why, he threatens to tell my Godfather, Severus who will then tell my father. They are close friends, deatheaters, both of them."

A knowing look passed between Dumbledore and Harry but Draco did not ask about it, he knew that it was not his place to do so. "What other reasons do you have?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said that Blaise figured out the reasons, implying that there was more than one, what other reasons do you have?" Harry asked, Draco closed his eyes and sighed, he refused to spill the contents of his heart, not to anyone, not even Harry.

"I have feelings for someone on the side of the light and even though I doubt that they could ever love me in return I feel as if having their respect is the closest I can get."

Dumbledore smiled, a gleaming twinkle in his pale blue eyes, it was as if he knew, he tried not to stare at the old man, knowing full well that he could get inside his head and Draco wouldn't have a chance.

"I think it is time that we resume your teachings Harry, I would like you to work closely with young Malfoy here and plan a raid on Malfoy Manor, seeing as his fellow Slytherin's may seem less than friendly towards him now I will arrange for him share Gryffindor classes and have his own chambers close to the tower, perhaps this will even ignite a spark between Draco and the one he feels for." Dumbledore said with a smile as he offered both teenagers a lemon drop.

**This story is to say I'm really really sorry for not updating any stories in such a long time, and I am really really sory and there is no excuse but i have had to work so much recently but the good news is I'm off to University in a couple of weeks and will have pleanty of time to write since the course I'm doing is cerative writing. **

**Once again I am very sorry and I promise you all I will start to finish stories and write sequels and everything, just let me know what you think of this new one. **

**Phoebe**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

"I didn't realise you had a sister." Harry said as they left the headmasters office, he had only just realised how little he knew about Draco Malfoy and he was suddenly feeling very sorry for that.

They were heading to Draco's allocated rooms next to Gryffindor common room, Harry was hoping that they would pass no one as it would be hard to explain why they were not in class, all the teachers and students were in class, all bar one but Harry wasn't aware of this. He faltered at the sound of footsteps, he knew the headmaster well enough to know that he wouldn't be coming after them and he knew no other teacher was free in this period.

He slowed the walking pace down as they neared a corridor that branched off to the right, Blaise was right behind them and as he drew his wand out and muttered a curse under his breath Harry had thrown Draco round the corner and dived after him. He quickly erected a wall of glittering silver that repelled most basic curses, hexes and spells.

He jumped out to face his attacker and sent nothing more than a mild stunner his way however Blaise dodged the well aimed spell by dropping to the floor, he had been there no more than a fraction of a second when he fired the jelly-legs jinx which was repelled by the shield, enraged Blaise prepared to cast something more damaging.

As he prepared himself Harry fired more stunners and though well aimed Blaise moved fast and dodged them all, before opening his mouth and yelling "CRUCIO!" Knowing all to well how his former friend thought Draco dived for Harry knocking him to the ground, sending the curse to hit the stone wall behind them.

Gathering his senses together Harry pointed his wand at Blaise and yelled "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Still stunned by what Draco had done he was not quick enough to dodge the spell and his limbs went straight to his body and he fell flat on his arse. "Thanks" Harry said getting up and then pulling Draco up as well.

"No problem, it's the least I could do seeing as your helping me and all." Draco said with a smile, "What do you suppose we do with him?"

"Expecto Patronum." Harry said with a wave of his wand and a silver stag shot out from the end, "Go and fetch Headmaster Dumbledore." Draco watched entranced as the silver stag galloped off to do as his master had instructed.

It was mere moments before Dumbledore came running into view, wand at the ready, "Harry, what is it?" He said sounding slightly panicked, he was a little out of breath and Harry felt slightly guilty about worrying the old man so much.

"Zabini attacked us, a duel commenced and ended when he attempted to cast the cruciatus curse on myself, Draco bears witness to this, it should be suitable grounds for explosion Headmaster, it would rid one of Voldemort's spies from the castle. However if that course of action is taken we risk his loyalty to Tom growing uncontrollably." Harry informed him.

"I see where you are coming from, I will take up the matter with Severus Snape, we will decide a suitable punishment for him, now though I must ask how did you bind Mr Zabini?" To Draco this seemed an odd question but Harry was unfazed by it and answered without so much as a single hesitation.

"With my wand, there was no real need to do anything further so I have not; I did not think that it was time to reveal my true talents Sir." The headmaster nodded and with a wave of his hand Blaise was free of the body bind.

"I believe that we have something to discuss Mr Zabini, if you would kindly follow me, Harry would you please resume showing Draco his new rooms, if this attack is anything to go by then I am reassured by my decision to allocate them to him."

"Yes Sir." Harry replied with a nod.

"Sir, I'm not sure that Professor Snape is one to be trusted with this matter, I know him to be in constant contact with both my father and of the Dark Lord." Draco said hoping that Dumbledore would see the truth about his godfather.

"Bite your tongue traitor!" Blaise snarled glaring at his fellow Slytherin, "The Dark Lord will hear of your treachery and he will want your blood spilt."

"He'll have to get through me first." Harry retorted, Blaise just glared at him.

"Harry, I think for Mr Malfoy's peace of mind that you should explain to him about Severus and while you do that I will arrange a memory modification for Mr Zabini so he does not repeat this conversation to those who may use it against us and also I think a punishment of some sort or another, although you are right, I wish to see my students remain at this school for some time to come, whether they hold Tom's mark or not."

Harry nodded and motioned that Draco should follow him, the headmaster headed off in the opposite direction with Blaise in tow while Draco walked next to Harry in silence. The duel was just the beginning of it all and Draco knew that all too well, the other Slytherin's would never follow in his footsteps, they would remain loyal to the Dark Lord no matter what, they believed in his strength.

The thought that his fellow housemates that he had known since childhood were going to die, even though he knew nothing of this 'special talent' that Harry had mentioned or the truth about his Godfather he knew that the trust of two great wizards such as Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore was hard to gain and impossible to get back if lost, they would not trust Severus if there was reason not to.

"I suppose you want some answers." Harry said as they neared the entrance to Gryffindor tower and then strolled right past it to a suit of armour that stood tall and proud. "Sugar rush" He said to the suit of armour, it bowed graciously to him and stepped aside. Draco watched as Harry walked right through the stone wall and vanished and then followed him.

"Answer's would be nice although you don't have to give them too me, I mean, I don't expect it or anything." Draco said trying to make sense of the words that seemed to spew out of his mouth without any control.

The room that they had entered was small with only one door leading off of it, there was a four poster double bed nicely made with white bed linen, a roaring fire with a comfortable looking cream sofa placed before it, a simple chest of draws along with a desk and chair in the corner right next to a book shelf crammed full of ancient tomes, some in languages that Draco couldn't understand and that was saying something as he was fluent in three.

"To start off with this room was unofficially mine, I would come here and think, occasionally to sleep if it all got too much in the tower, I love my friends but the pressure of war is wearing us all down, it is nice to get away for a bit. So, please make yourself at home, you can change the password as well but make sure you let me know what it is in case something goes wrong."

"Where did 'sugar rush' come from?" Draco asked, referring to the password that Harry had used to get them into this cosy little room to begin with.

"It was one of the few still hidden rooms that no one had ever been able to find, it was after Ron and I had overdosed on sugar and we were practically bouncing off the walls last year that we were mucking about and I fell right through the hidden doorway." Harry explained, "It was my idea to put a suit of armour in front of it and password protect it."

"I never realised that you ever relaxed enough to overdose on sugar." Draco said with a smile, there was a lot to Harry Potter that he hadn't realised before and every new bit of information that he absorbed only made Draco love him even more. The two of them settled down on the sofa, sinking into its cushions and relaxing.

"It was last year, when things weren't so tense, it isn't easy and you have to know who to trust, but I believe that you are genuine and I'm pretty good at judging people. This is why I am going to do my best to make sure that no harm comes to you from Tom or even from your fellow Slytherin's. As for Professor Snape he is our spy though he is very good at what he does and for so many years I believed that he was truly a deatheater but he helps to train me nowadays."

"But he helped to raise me, threatened me, beat me, he attended every single meeting with my father, I have seen him torture and kill countless muggles and he has done so without even a flicker of emotion in his eyes." Draco said unable to believe that his Godfather was a good man.

"You may have seen the deaths but I have seen the scars." Harry said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Everyone has scars from the Dark Lord, even me, he is no exception." Draco replied not fully understanding what Harry was saying.

The Gryffindor shook his head, "No, I do not mean scars given to him by others, for even I have those, what I mean is the self inflicted scars, each time he kills he feels as if he must hurt himself, only to myself and to Dumbledore has he ever shown these scars and you must never mention them to him or to anyone else. I know that Professor Snape is a good man though somewhat misguided, he has sacrificed so much already and unfortunately there is so much more to come."

"I never knew, all those years and I never saw the good in him, he was so much like my father." Draco said unable to look Harry in the eye, Lucius was a cruel man, his heart had iced over many years ago, he was incapable of feeling.

"I know that its hard but you always knew that this war was never going to be easy, but I will win, I've worked so hard with Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore and we've discovered some hidden talents that no one knew that I had." Harry explained, "That was what Dumbledore meant when he asked me how I had bound Blaise."

"You mean wandless magic and stuff like that?" Draco questioned, when it came to things like this it was clear he was very naïve despite how he had been raised and the fact that his family was so closely linked to the Dark Arts.

"That and more, have you ever heard of ancient magic?" Harry asked, the term sounded familiar to Draco but he wasn't sure of the details, he explained this to Harry and watched as he gave a faint smile. "That was the same reaction I got from Ron, though as usual Hermione was all knowledgeable and excited about it."

"What is it?"

"It is the ability to connect to the earth and to use it's natural resources to your advantage, in simple terms control the elements although it is so much more than that, not many can say that they even have the smallest trace of talent needed to be able to begin to learn it. There are very few magical families that have, it is a gene past down through the generations, undetectable of course. Professor Snape is another who is blessed with the gene, he is not as strong as me but he has tutored me well, I have out grown my mentor in this case but he helps me to focus it perfectly."

"You have such a great strength no wonder everyone has so much faith in you."

Harry checked his watch and realised that they had been talking for hours and it had turned from breakfast into lunch time, changing the subject drastically Harry asked, "Perhaps it would be best if you didn't go to the Great Hall for lunch, it might cause too much of a fuss if you went to sit at the Gryffindor table before I have the chance to explain to my friends, I have to make an appearance, there will be talk if I don't go seeing as I have not been in classes all morning, will you be alright on your own, I can send you up some lunch if you like."

"That would be nice, and I'll be okay, is there any way that I can contact you if I need anything?" Draco asked.

"Can you conjure a patronus at all?"

"Ever since my father found out that you processed the ability he made me practice the spell until I perfected it." Draco explained.

"What form does it take?"

"A unicorn"

"The symbol of pure magic, interesting," Harry mused to himself, "That is how you will contact me, it is how we communicate with each other, send your patronus to find me and I will come to your aid."

"Thank you."

Harry nodded and said goodbye before leaving, Draco sank back down onto the sofa burying his head in his hands, this morning he had been all prepared to sacrifice his happiness and live the life that everyone expected of him but by lunch time he was sitting and talking to the man he loved with the prospect of being guided back to the right path.

There would be a lot of challenges against his sudden change of elegance, some were more than likely to object and ask proof that his loyalty had indeed changed, something that he did not have. He was unsure how far Harry was willing to go to keep him safe, was it really fair to burden the teen with more troubles than he needed.

Suddenly Dobby, his old house elf, appeared before him carrying a tray with ham and cheese sandwiches and pumpkin juice. "Harry Potter Sir asked Dobby to deliver lunch to my former master; he says that Dobby should make sure you were comfortable."

"Thank you Dobby, this is very nice of you, there will be nothing else, but thank you all the same." Draco said gratefully accepting the meal, Dobby bowed his head to him and vanished with a pop. Draco needed to be alone to gather his thoughts together, he wasn't sure how everything had changed so quickly, he hadn't even been back at Hogwarts a full day and his entire life had been tipped upside down.

He was unsurprised that the cause of this dramatic change was Harry Potter, with his mesmerizing green eyes and addictive laugh, his outstanding courage and unique ability to love everyone no matter their faults.

It was just as lunch was due to finish that Harry returned to him, Draco had moved to the bed after he had finished lunch and had lain there thinking, when Harry had returned it had shocked him to such an extent that it had made him fall unceremoniously off of the bed and onto the floor with a graceless thud.

Harry couldn't help but grin as he went to help the Slytherin up, "Sorry" He said holding back laughter, "I honestly didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay" Draco said as Harry pulled him up off the floor, their hands were linked for a moment and it was the most heavenly moment in all of Draco's life, it made him want more, he wanted to kiss those gorgeous pink lips that were smiling at him, but he held himself back.

"What were you thinking about?" Harry asked, but Draco couldn't exactly be truthful as his thoughts had mainly consisted of him so he just shrugged in reply, not really knowing what to say. "We have Charms this afternoon and even though I'd love to skive off class a bit more we can't really afford to do that with our N.E.W.Ts coming up this year."

Draco nodded to show that he understood, "And I've also spoken to my friends" Harry explained, "And even though a couple were a little reluctant they are happy to get to know you and watch your back when I can't be there, despite past prejudice we are willing to accept you and allow you to earn our trust."

"And that is more than I could have hoped for after all that I did to you and your friends, thank you Harry." Draco said with a genuine smile on his face.

"How about after tea you repay me by helping me start the plan on raiding Malfoy Manor, the sooner we start the better I say." Draco nodded his agreement; he didn't want his father out wandering the streets any longer than was necessary. He wanted the man away from his mother and sister as soon as possible.

Draco was surprised that as he neared the Charm's classroom with Harry his nerves began to build, outside Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were all standing outside.

There was a chorus of greetings aimed at Harry and a few mumbled hello's aimed at Draco, it certainly didn't make him feel welcome and he stuck very close to Harry as they entered the class room and were greeted by Professor Flitwick.

At first Draco thought that he was about to be abandoned by Harry in favour of his friends, but instead he sat next to Ron who had plonked himself down beside Hermione, which left a space for him at the end of the row of chairs. The others sat either in front of behind them. The Ravenclaw students sitting quiet happily on the other side of the class room, although many waved and smiled at Harry and the other Gryffindor's.

Draco sat very quietly not saying a word as he removed the standard book of spells grade seven from his bag along with his wand and writing materials. The atmosphere with the Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's seemed to be so much more relaxed than it was with the Slytherin's, it was one of the first things that he noticed, they were all chatting quiet happily amongst themselves until Professor Flitwick cleared his throat to begin the lesson.

Draco had been given the exact timetable as Harry's for the time being to assure his safety but he was sure that Dumbledore knew how he felt about the boy-who-lived. The class went along smoothly enough and by the end of it the other Gryffindor's were starting to relax around him a little, however it was never to last, they had an hour and a half of potions this afternoon with the Slytherin's.

All too quickly the hour of Charm's was over and they were being dismissed, Harry hung back and waited as Draco very slowly packed his things away while the others walked ahead.

"Are you okay Draco?" Harry asked sensing that something was wrong and as always he was right.

"We have potions Harry, with the Slytherin's, with Professor Snape!" He said clearly panicked, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself but it wasn't going to work.

"Do you trust me Draco?" He didn't even need to consider the answer to this, he trusted Harry above all others, he nodded in response. "Then be reassured that your one of us now, no matter how long it takes them to get used to it you are one of us and I'll make sure that the Slytherin's can't touch you." Once again Draco nodded and grabbed his bag so he could follow Harry down into the dungeons.

As he descended the steps his stomach began to churn nervously with anticipation of what was to come, this wasn't going to be easy or pleasant. Surely Blaise would have told the other Slytherin's of his treachery by now. However once they were at the class room door they saw that it was not Severus Snape there to great them but Professor McGonagall, she looked grim faced as the students gathered around her.

"Professor Snape has been called away on urgent business and has asked me to inform you all that he expects a two foot essay on the urgent need for care and attention during potion making. He expects it in by next class without any excuses, you may do as you wish with the remainder of your afternoon."

There was instantly and out break of whispers as to what business Severus had been called away to attend to, it was just as professor McGonagall went to leave Pansy Parkinson shouted, "Where's Blaise, Professor?"

"I do not believe that that is any concern of yours Miss Parkinson, Mr Zabini will rejoin his class mates soon enough I am sure." Professor McGonagall said before sweeping up the stairs and out of sight. It was not long before the Slytherin's noticed that something was amiss.

"The last time we saw him he was going to talk to you Draco and now your hanging around with Gryffindor's, how convenient." Theodore Nott shouted out startling the Gryffindor's who had been heading for the exit.

"What are you implying Theo?" Draco asked turning away from the Gryffindor's to face the group of Slytherin's that stood behind them.

"I'm implying that what Blaise was telling us last night was true, your betraying us, your family and the Great Dark Lord for them, pathetic and weak Gryffindor's."

"I hope you're proud to wear that mark upon your forearm Theo, be proud of it until the day that it kills you because it will be all you have." Draco retorted, the confrontation had made the others stop and turn; Harry had come to stand right beside Draco to reassure him of his presence.

"You will regret it Draco, you may stand proud next to Harry Potter now but when it comes to the final battle you will show your true colours and they will be silver and green, not red and gold." Pansy said.

"That is of course if the Dark Lord hasn't killed you before then which is more than likely, your new body guard won't be around to protect you forever." Theo snarled maliciously.

"If you want to challenge him or any one of my friends for that matter then you go through me first, if you desire to wear his mark and suffer his cruelty then by all means crawl back to your master and tell him that Draco was brave enough to fight for what is right, but if you want to find your way again then I will help you but if you think that Tom Riddle can save you then you are very much mistaken."

"If you think that any one of us would ever fight for you Potter you are more of a fool than I ever thought, we will forever be his loyal servants in this great fight and not even you can stop us now." Theo said as he withdrew his wand, everyone followed suit, every Gryffindor and every Slytherin prepared to fight.

Out of the corner of his eye Draco saw a silvery animal that looked as if it could have been an otter sneak up the stairs unnoticed and disappear from sight. It was then that Draco noticed that Harry was the exception, he had not drawn his wand and where everyone else looked serious and focused he was smiling and quite relaxed.

"Are you really stupid enough to fight me?" He asked, there was a definite tone of mocking in his voice, "Blaise was and it didn't do him any good, I let Blaise off lightly but I won't be so kind again." Harry warned.

"You haven't even drawn your wand, I think your bluffing and it's about time you were put in your place." Theo said with a wicked grin as he fired the entrail-expelling curse towards Harry.

This was no house rivalry the war had spilt into the corridors of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, the hatred between the great houses of Slytherin and Gryffindor had reached such a point that the only way it was to be settled was for the same thing to happen that had happened when the school had been founded. Slytherin was to leave the school.

As the curse flew towards Harry at an alarming rate Harry raised his hand to great it and with a muttered Latin verse the curse rebounded off the palm of his hand and hit the stone wall, if he could help it he would not hurt the Slytherin's but he would do what had to be done in order for himself and his friends to survive.

For a brief second no one did or said anything, it was clear that Harry had been holding back but now he was all too prepared to defend his friends, those he considered to be family, this would not be a battle that the Slytherin's would win and it seemed that even they knew it.

Suddenly Draco felt a painful surge in his left forearm where the Dark Mark was branded into his flesh. "Harry" He warned as he clutched at his arm, the pain worsened, it felt as if it were on fire, "The Mark, it burns."

Harry watched powerless as the Slytherin's pressed there Marks and vanished in wisps of black smoke, Draco however remained, Harry took Draco's left arm in his hand and muttered a cooling charm and immediately it went back to normal. As he did this Professor McGonagall and Tonks, the new Defence Against the Dark Art's Professor arrived wands drawn ready to fire.

"Its okay, they were called by their master and they left, I do not want them to set foot back in this castle, they are too far gone to save now, we all bear witness to that fact." Harry said bitterly to the two Professors. "What of Professor Snape and Blaise?"

"Albus has just informed us that both are gone, that is why it took so long to respond to Hermione's call, what happened here?" Minerva asked.

"The beginning of the end," Harry responded as he walked up the steps and out of sight, as the Gryffindor's turned to each other to debate what he had just said Draco slipped unnoticed after him. He didn't want Harry to be on his own right now.

Draco followed him all the way to the astronomy tower where he watched as he collapsed next to the battlements surrounding the open space and began to cry. Draco was more than a little taken aback at this development, he knew that this was not the time to disturb him but as he turned to leave a voice called him back.

"You can stay if you like," Harry said, "I could do with some company." Draco did as Harry had suggested, he went and sat next to him, he was even more shocked when out of his pocket Harry brought a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "You don't mind if I smoke do you?" He asked at the expression on Draco's face.

"No, not at all, I just didn't expect you to smoke is all," Draco replied truthfully, Harry offered him one and he accepted and allowed him to light it. For a minute they sat there in silence occasionally taking drags from their cigarettes.

"Are you surprised?" Harry suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you surprised by how I act, what I do?"

"A little, I certainly never saw this coming."

"Not many do, do you want to know a secret?" Draco nodded and Harry lifted up his shirt a fraction and then exposed his hip so that Draco could see that in beautiful italic lettering was the word '_Death'._ "Not even Ron and Hermione know about it, there would be too many questions."

"Then can you keep my secret?" Draco asked, Harry nodded and took a drag from his cigarette as he watched Draco roll up the sleeve of his shirt on his right arm and saw that on his wrist was a tattoo of a small black dragon with emerald eyes, Harry took a closer look and saw that underneath the beautifully drawn creature were two different scars.

"What did you do?" Harry asked, knowing full well what the likely answer was to be but he couldn't just assume, he had to hear it from Draco.

"Two years ago, I felt as if there was no way out, that no one was going to save me from the life I was destined to lead, I couldn't handle it, I needed to know that there was something better than that but when I found nothing I gave up hope."

"There is always something better Draco, I often dream of doing something with my life other than fighting, I know that option will always be there for me when I win this war and that is the thought that keeps me strong, you need to find your own strength otherwise you'll never make it."

"Your strength is the thoughts of a better life?"

"Yes, a life away from war and fighting, to be normal."

Draco had never realised that Harry wanted nothing more than to be normal, he had of course known that he did not enjoy the recognition he got but he lived with it, this was a whole new side to Harry Potter, the saviour of the wizarding world.

**Don't foreget to leave a review to let me know what you think, the more reviews i get the happier i am and the happier i am the more I write. Love you all, Phoebe xxxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

The afternoon passed slowly and pleasantly, once they had finished their cigarettes and Harry had calmed himself down they made sure that there was no trace of the smell of the cigarettes on their clothes or breath and headed to Gryffindor common room.

The Gryffindor's were all sat in their common room playing some form of muggle card game, they called it Black Jack. Draco surprised them all when he asked them if they had ever played Poker before, that was of course a muggle game and they hadn't thought that he would have lowered himself to such things. They then surprised him when they replied that Poker was for the evenings when they could sit and drink unnoticed playing strip poker.

They all seemed unfazed by his presence and they seemed to except him readily into their group, they played both wizarding and muggle games to keep them entertained through the evening, they all laughed and joked with each other with not a care in the world or so it seemed. Draco could not remember being this relaxed in a long while.

When the time came they all headed down to dinner together, the other Slytherin's had not tried to gain entry to the castle again, however waiting in the entrance hall was a most unwelcome guest. Lucius Malfoy stood with his cane in one hand and a menacing look in his eyes as he eyed his son walking down the marble staircase with a large group of Gryffindor's.

"Draco, a word if you will," He said motioning for his son to come with him into an empty class room so that they could talk. Harry placed a hand on his wrist as a sign not to go anywhere. "Draco?" Lucius questioned when his son did not move.

"No" Draco answered very simply, "Anything that you want to say can be said here." _In front of witnesses _Draco added in the back of his mind, he knew that look all too well, it was just before his father gave him a beating and he refused to put up with that any longer.

"It will not take long Draco but it is of a personal matter, now please accompany me on a walk, we must talk." Lucius said insistently, this time there was a forceful tone of warning in his voice.

"If you want to ask me why I did not attend the deatheater meeting then the answer is simple, I refuse to be one of you, I thought I knew my place in this war father, I thought it would be right next to you and the Dark Lord but I was wrong, I can't do it, my place is right here, I stand proudly next to Harry Potter knowing full well that when this is all over he will stand triumphant and you will be dead."

"Then let the war commence." Lucius said with a smirk, he turned on his heel and swept from the entrance hall out into the night, Draco however did not support a look of triumph but a look of pure horror.

"What's wrong Draco, you got rid of him." Harry said trying to figure out why Draco was looking so worried.

"We have to raid the manor tonight, he gave up too easily, I'm scared for Alexandra, I know him Harry, he would never just give upon matter what I said." Draco said practically begging Harry to see the truth.

"It's okay Draco, we'll do it." Draco's face lit up at Harry's words but Hermione just frowned, as did the other Gryffindor's.

"Harry, don't make me remind you of the night at the ministry, we cannot just run into things without a plan just because …"

"Just because what Hermione?" Harry snapped, "This is nothing like that, we know for a fact that Draco's sister is in real danger and if we do nothing then we are allowing a young girl to suffer, could you live with that on your conscious because I know I couldn't."

"If you want to run off into what could be a trap then by all means go, you know who that is, he's a Slytherin and a Malfoy, he's asking you to raid his own home, for all we know he doesn't have a sister Harry, he may want you dead as much as Voldemort does."

"I can see where your coming from but do you really think that I'd do this if I was one hundred percent sure that we could handle this, I trust Draco and I am all too aware of his past but people change, look how far we've come in the past few years."

"There's change and then there's miracles, there is no way that he could have changed that much that quickly, if you go then don't expect any help from me," Hermione said her brown eyes alight with anger.

"Or me" Ron said, "I don't' trust him mate, I'm sorry but I don't. He has been nothing but horrible to us from the very beginning and I don't think that any of us are ready to trust anything he says yet."

"I thought you guys could put the past behind you, it wasn't an hour ago that we were all quite happily playing cards together." Harry pointed out.

"There's a difference between playing cards and trusting someone not to lead you into a trap Harry," Seamus said backing up Ron and Hermione much to the horror of Harry and Draco.

"Neville, Dean have you got anything to add, come on make your choice are you with me or against me, you too Parvati and you Lavender, what is it going to be?" Harry asked, Draco knew he was putting a lot on the line for him and for that he was grateful.

"We're sorry Harry" Neville said, "We've nothing to gain from it, there isn't any point in going and risking our lives."

"So be it, come on Draco, we can do this ourselves." Harry said, he took a hold of Draco's wrist and dragged him out of the grand oak doors and into the grounds. Startled by this action he allowed himself to be dragged along by the determined teenager.

"Can you apperate?" Harry asked as the walked straight out of Hogwarts grounds and into Hogsmead, Draco nodded, "Good because I have no clue where Malfoy Manor is so you're going to have to take me with you." Draco had done this with Alexandra before to get to Diagon Alley.

"I have to ask, why are you doing this Harry, your friends, they don't trust me."

"But I do Draco and I'm going to prove them wrong, we both are," Harry said taking Draco's hands in his own and relaxing as they were apparated away from Hogwarts school witchcraft and wizardry, away from safety and right into danger.

Draco watched as Harry looked around their new surroundings, "Where are we?" He asked, they were not inside the manor itself nor were they in the grounds; they were in fact in a forest not a mile from the manor house, as Draco explained this Harry's face grew serious as if he was expecting a trap. "Why" he asked, "Why are we here?"

"Because," Draco began to explain, determined not to prove Harry's friends right, "when I was a child I loved to explore the manor and as every ancient manor house or castle Malfoy Manor has secret passages. This one leads into one of the cells in the dungeons, I assume that it was used as an escape route at some point or another, now the entrance is overgrown, you have to know where to find it to use it."

"That's a much better plan than barging straight in, how long before we're detected do you reckon?" Harry asked as Draco began to search for the hidden tunnel.

"My father doesn't know about this tunnel and the wards he put up around the Manor do not cover under the ground so as long as we're not seen we can get in and out without being noticed at all. It is usually just my parents and my sister but with the other Slytherin's not being permitted into the school you never know."

"Then we expect the unexpected, it shouldn't be too long before my friends inform Dumbledore of my disappearing act and they will come, trust me, I'm never alone, we're going to be fine and so is your sister."

"Ah, I've found it, let's go." Draco said, "I'll go first and lead the way." He pulled pack the under growth, dropped to his hands and knees and began to crawl, Harry followed suit and did the same.

The tunnel in question was small and awkward to move in, it was also pitch dark but Draco had warned that any trace of magic underneath the ground could trigger the alarms up above so it was best not to risk it. Every so often Draco's knee would land on a sharp stone and the roots of various plants would brush against him and send a shiver down his spine but they kept moving without making a sound.

Finally after what seemed like an age they reached the way into the dungeon, the only problem was that they could hear someone above them, so keeping very still and very quiet they listened.

It was not the sound of voice that they could hear as they sat in the dark but the sound of someone crying, Draco knew that cry, it was his mother, he had heard this cry long into the night as a child for he knew her not to be happy with Lucius, her only joy were her children, he knew that and he hated his father even more for it and now he had locked her down here.

Draco allowed an unnoticed tear escape from his eye and trail down his cheek; forcefully he wiped it away and whispered ever so softly that he knew it to be safe. Just to be careful Harry cast a sensing spell to discover how many occupants were in the room, there were two a woman and a young girl.

Carefully Harry helped Draco to push open the entrance in the wall and clamber out of the tiny tunnel, a very stunned Narcissa Malfoy looked in astonishment as her son and the boy-who-lived climbed into her cell.

Draco put a finger to his lips, Alexandra was asleep in her mothers arms and made no sound, Draco beckoned for her to come over but she shook her head. Very quietly Draco tip toed over to his mother and whispered, "You'll be safe mum, you and Alex will be safe."

She gave him a watery sort of smile, "I'm sorry my dragon but I am just as guilty as your father when it comes to being a deatheater, please, take your sister for she is better off with you, but I must stay." She told them both, she then looked to Harry, "You are such a brave child, I know that my family have done wrong to you but for you to forgive my dragon so readily, it is inspired, take care of my babies Harry Potter."

"I will do my best Madame." Harry replied as footsteps sounded above them, Narcissa looked suddenly horrified, hurriedly she handed her only daughter to her son and motioned for them to go, she had a pleading look in her eyes that made Draco want to cry.

"We'll come back for you mum, I promise." Draco said in a hushed tone as he pulled his mother into a tight hug while Harry climbed gracefully back into the tunnel taking Alexandra with him, Draco soon followed dragging the stone back with him leaving Narcissa alone to her fate.

Alexandra was slowly waking up and realising that she was no longer with her mum, and being only five she did not like being hurried along a tunnel at full speed between two people she couldn't see.

"Alex, listen to me" Draco said as she began to cry, "It's your brother, I've come to take you to a save place, where daddy can't touch you, I'm going to take you to where I go when I'm not at home."

"Draco" Alexandra snivelled, "Draco?"

"Yes, it's me, but you have to keep moving otherwise Daddy will catch us and he'll punish us both." This he knew would terrify his baby sister and he hated to do it but he knew that it had to be done, they had to hurry, Lucius would soon noticed that his only daughter was missing and he'd know who had taken her.

They exited the tunnel and were blinded by the light, the sun was setting in the distance, the dimming light making the forest look magically beautiful, however none of them had time to appreciate this, Draco took hold of Alexandra's hand and apparated her back to Hogwarts while Harry followed on his own.

They landed dirty and tired, their muscles aching back in Hogsmead, it was unfortunate that their goal had not been reached but having Lucius arrested in Draco's mind was only an added bonus, having his sister out of harms way was more than enough, his father could be dealt with another day.

"We have to get back inside the grounds, back into the castle, we're not safe yet, come on, get up." Harry urged pulling himself up, "I'll carry her if you like." Harry offered, "We'll move quicker that way."

However Alexandra was stubborn and Draco was forced to carry her as they hurried back into the castle grounds, up towards the grand oak doors and into the entrance hall where they collapsed unceremoniously onto the floor breathless, filthy and exhausted.

It was minutes before Albus Dumbledore hurried into view, a frown etched upon his elderly face as he looked sternly at the two boys; he was clearly unimpressed with the course of action that they had decided upon but his annoyance at this seemed to be overridden by how grateful he was that Harry was alive.

"How many times have I told you Harry, it is too dangerous to leave this castle unsupervised and as much as I give Mr Malfoy here the benefit of the doubt your friends had a valid point that you dismissed without even considering. You understand how disappointed I am, especially after the incident in the department of mysteries."

"Why does everyone keep reminding me of that, do you not think I don't feel bad enough as it is, it was two years ago, I made a mistake but I'm only human and I know what I'm doing." Harry protested as he climbed to his feet. "We're both more than alright and we have Alexandra."

"That is beside the point, you needlessly put yourself at risk again, whether the outcome was good or bad does not matter, you promised me that you would not do it again and still you jump in feet first without thinking. As it happens you were fortunate, Tom and his followers were causing trouble in a muggle neighbourhood near by, I sent Severus to fetch your mother and sister."

"Well maybe if you kept me better informed then I wouldn't do these things, I am old enough to realise the consequences of my actions and you know perfectly well that without me you'd be nothing in this war, I realise your trying to protect me but just stop and think about it Professor, if you protect me forever how am I going to learn?"

"You learn by us training you Harry not running off into danger, as it is I think that Mr Malfoy should be put into someone else's care as he seems to be having a bad effect on you and I won't permit your focus to be divided." Dumbledore said sounding decided however Harry looked mutinous.

"You do that and your only hope to win this war will bow out gracefully, from now on we play this my way, I'll be attending Order meetings and in return you will get the peace of mind that my plans will be discussed and then back up sent with me as I carry them out but it's your choice _Sir, _so what's it to be?"

"You are still a student at this school Harry and as you remain so you will do as you are told, we may be in the middle of a war but you cannot be treated any differently than any other student."

"A quarter of the students at your precious school have left to join Tom and his army of deatheaters, not to mention the dark creatures he has on his side, you know full well that I am far more than a student and the fact that you even pretend that you treated me the same as everyone else is ludicrous. I've surpassed my mentors in every given subject I'm being taught and you still pretend that I'm dependent on you." Harry raged, Draco was still sat on the floor, leaning against the cold stone wall with his baby sister sat on his lap.

"It is time that you learnt to respect your elders Harry, I will not tolerate such actions towards myself or any of my people, it is mutinous behaviour and will be dealt with." Dumbledore warned but Draco could clearly see that Harry was more than willing to challenge the headmaster's words and warnings.

"Then deal with it _Sir, _but are you willing to deal with the consequences?" Harry asked almost innocently, "You have kept me controlled in this school of yours for too long, every year I've been put directly in harms way and the one time that I make a mistake it's thrown back at me at every opportunity you have and I'm sick of it." Harry said heatedly.

"If you had even taken the time to have anyone inform me of what was going on then none of it would have happened, I had a right to know about the prophecy as it involved me and prophesised my death, you have treated me as a child for as long as I could remember, I haven't been anything close to a child since that night in my first year when I battled for the Philosopher's stone. From that night I was a warrior, a fighter and you knew it but you just pretended that you were doing the best for me, protecting me when really all you were doing was pushing me into more dangerous situations."

"Anything I did Harry was to maintain your innocence as long as possible, my decisions may not have always been for the best in the end but they have kept you alive." Dumbledore said trying desperately to regain his patience.

"Barely" Harry snapped, "Your old and past it, it's about time someone else took over the Order, maybe then a war that's been dragged out since I was one would be over and a man who we've just allowed to live without even attempting to track him down would be dead and as for 'trying to maintain my innocence' as you put it, how innocent did you want me to be, I have to kill a man, not braid his hair."

Dumbledore looked dumbfounded at his words, a first for the headmaster Draco was sure, he didn't look best pleased that his saviour was rebelling against him and he was all too aware who was going to be blamed for this little outburst, Draco was one hundred percent sure it would be him.

"You said that you sent Professor Snape to fetch Mrs Malfoy, where is she now?" Harry asked trying desperately to keep his patience with the elderly man; Draco could tell that Harry was gripping tightly to the last shreds of his tolerance for the Headmaster.

"We have arranged accommodation for her in Hogsmead at the three broomsticks Tom has assured me that she will be safe there." Dumbledore replied.

"Come on Draco, I think that Alexandra would like to see her mother again, we'll go down together." Harry said now ignoring the headmaster who looked as if he was about to protest, Draco hoped for the old mans sake that he did not.

"Harry, I do think …"

"Does it look like I care what you think at the moment?" Harry snapped as Draco pulled himself up off the floor while still holding Alexandra, who he put down as she was fairly heavy despite being small for her age.

"Where are we going now Draco?" She asked her brother sweetly looking up at him with adoring eyes, up until this point she had not spoken a word and now that she had Harry was surprised at how grown up she sounded, it was not something that he has expected.

"We're going to see mummy, she's staying in a hotel nearby and hopefully you're going to stay there as well." Draco said taking his sister's hand within his own and headed for the grand oak doors with Harry leading the way, Headmaster Dumbledore making no further move to stop them from leaving.

"Who is that?" Alexandra asked, referring to Harry, who was walking a little ahead of the other too obviously in an extremely foul mood after his confrontation with the headmaster.

"That's Harry Potter," Draco told his sister in hushed tones, "The one that daddy doesn't like, he's going to save us." Draco watched his sister's face light up as he said that and he wished that Harry could have seen it.

Harry however was far too irritated to really notice anyone but himself; he seemed to be mumbling softly to himself as they walked but Draco dared not approach him as he was somewhat afraid of the teen.

They reached the village just as it was nearing dusk but before they entered the three broomsticks Harry pulled Draco and Alexandra to one side out of sight of passing witches and wizards.

"If we just walk in there then there is bound to be questions, so I'm going to make you look different, Tom knows both myself and my alias Cameron well, it seems a shame to make you look different seeing as your so perfect but it has to be done I suppose. Any preferences?"

Draco was a little taken aback with what had just been said but decided that all thoughts on the entire day could wait until later on the evening, when he was tucked up in bed and there was nothing else taxing his brain. He shook his head in response to Harry's question and watched as the other teen got to work.

There was no mirror to look himself over but he trusted Harry not to have made him horribly disfigured, however when he looked at the other teen he seemed so different, his eyes were now a dull blue and his hair a dusty blonde that fell in bangs around his face, the legendary scar of course hidden by magic.

Alexandra looked adorably confused but Harry hadn't bothered to change her appearance, it wasn't needed, unlike the other two she hadn't made proper public appearances yet and therefore would go unnoticed anyway.

As Draco pushed the door to the three broomsticks open he noticed that the Dark Mark had also been covered with magic, he hadn't realised that any magic was strong enough to cover it; he sent a questioning look to Harry who just smirked in return and slipped into the pub.

"Good evening Tom." Harry said inclining his head to the barman who did the say in return and responded with:

"Good evening Mr Shan, how may I be of service?"

"I need a quiet word with one of your guests, the one brought it not long ago, do you know who I speak of?" Harry asked looking the man directly in the eye, Draco watched the two interact and knew that there was certainly more going on than met the eye but he knew when not to ask questions.

Tom nodded, "This way please Mr Shan," Tom said motioning for the three of them to follow him, Draco led Alexandra by the hand through to the back of the three broomsticks and up the stairs to the first floor and knocked on the third door on the right.

A cautious Narcissa Malfoy opened it and peeked out of a gap about three inches wide, "Who are you?" She asked addressing Harry and Draco, she had not spotted Alexandra, who at that moment chose to run up to her mum.

"It's okay mummy, it's Draco and Harry Potter." At her daughter's words she looked at the two teenage boys with interest and realised what had happened, she opened the door and motioned for them to enter.

"You go ahead Draco but I feel like a drink, feel free to join me later," Harry said as Draco tried to enter with Harry in tow.

"Be safe mum," Draco said as Tom and Harry began to leave, "And look after Alex but I have business to take of, I'll see you soon, I promise."

"Be safe my Dragon, be safe." Narcissa said giving her son a kiss on the cheek and then pulling him into a tight hug that almost suffocated the boy.

When Draco finally caught up with Harry he was sitting at the bar, cigarette in hand and drink in the other, Draco slid into the bar stool next to Harry and placed his order.

**I'm glad that you are enjoying this story, I can't believe that I'm currently writing the fourth chapter and it's only the night after the first day, I have only eight days before I go to University and a whole day off this week so hopefully I'll write really quickly and have another chapter posted for you soon. Phoebe.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

Harry had a shot glass filled with electric blue liquid, which he downed instantly asking for another, Draco ordered the same and accepted the offer of a cigarette when offered. They were still under the disguise as Cameron and friend who Draco had decided looked like a Max.

After about only two drinks their evening was disrupted by Dumbledore walking into the three broomsticks, evidently looking for them, however Harry just turned back to his electric blue shot and downed it, Draco followed suit and Tom refilled their glasses.

Dumbledore glanced their way but a second of staring he looked away, sighing he approached Tom and asked: "Have you seen Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy?" There was no concern in his voice in the slightest and Harry had to stop himself from glaring at the old man.

"They came by a little while ago but left again after they dropped off a young girl." Tom said, "Would you like to stay for a drink?"

"No, no, it's okay Tom; do you have any idea where they were going?" He asked getting irritated by this point.

"Sorry, he didn't mention anything, just came in asked to see one of my guests and then left five minutes later." The headmaster sighed somewhat dramatically and then left.

Draco saw Harry's face light up with a triumphant smile, he was obviously pleased with himself and it appeared to Draco that this was going to be as turning point in their relationship as friends. He was already a little unsteady on his feet by this point and he knew that alcohol had a bad effect on him, it tended to work as well as any truth serum would.

"Now that that is over and done with I think that we need to go and have some fun, what do you say?" Harry asked, "Dumbledore knows that when I do my disappearing acts that I'll be back in the morning with one hell of a hangover. So are you up for it?"

"Up for what exactly?" Draco asked although he thought that he already knew the likely answer to this question, it worried him when Harry grinned at him.

"You'll see, come on." Harry left a large amount of money on the bar that would have paid for their tab twice over gave Tom a nod and then, swinging an arm around Draco's shoulders they strolled casually out of the Three Broomsticks.

"Where are we going?" Draco asked, he was immensely enjoying the feeling of Harry being so close to him and he certainly wasn't complaining about the opportunity to get close to the hero that he was obsessed with.

"Muggle London" Harry responded, "They have the best clubs by far, the wizarding world is kinda lacking in serious bars and clubs, I plan on opening one after the war is over." Harry admitted as they walked along the deserted streets of Hogsmead, the shops dark and uninhabited. "Hold still, I'll apperate us both." Harry told Draco before he could get a chance to reply.

Draco held his breath as Harry did as he said and disapparated them to a pat of London that previously he had never been too, that or his father had forbidden it because Draco was one hundred percent sure that if his father ever found out that he had stood on this street beneath all the pink neon lights with a man hanging on his shoulder he would be dead within the second.

It was all very clear to Draco that this was the clubbing capital but what he really didn't understand was why there were hardly any women, and the women that he could see looked far too masculine to really be classed as such. He was looking around in fascination when Harry surprised him by turning towards a club that was called Pink Flamingo.

The neon pink sign flickered, illuminating the large bouncer at the door in an odd fashion, however it made him look far more menacing than he actually was, Draco was positive he wouldn't want to meet him down a dark alley at night.

"Good evening Cameron" The bouncer said in a deep voice that terrified Draco though he tried desperately not to show this.

"Evening Joe, how's thing's going tonight?" Harry asked the bouncer that had just greeted him. Draco watched them interact with interest.

"The usual, are you looking to go in?" Joe asked them eying Draco over a couple of times as if he wasn't sure about the look of him.

"Yeah, I'm looking to show my friend here a good time, it's been a while." Harry said with a cheeky grin in place, Joe smirked and lifted the rope barrier to them, allowing them entrance into the club. Immediately they were heading up a flight of stairs, with each step they took the music getting louder and louder.

Draco had always wondered where Harry always disappeared off too when Dumbledore sent search parties around the school looking for him and now he knew, The Pink Flamingo, which to Draco looked like nothing more than a gay bar, this little realisation certainly lightened his mood.

They entered into the main room of the club to a room packed with young men having as much fun as possible, the sound of Nelly Furtado's maneater was booming over the stereo system and drinks orders were bring shouted across the bar that stretched from one side of the room to the other.

It took Draco a little while to adjust to the surrounds, the volume of the music alone was overwhelming, but combine that with the mirror ball and strobe lighting that occasionally went off and it was no wonder that Draco was overcome by it all.

Harry took him by the hand and dragged him into the thick of it, he stopped at the bar and they ordered another two rounds of shots before going off to find a spot on the dance floor.

Draco had never before been clubbing, not in the wizarding world and certainly not in the muggle world, it was an entirely new experience for him, so when a man that he neither knew or recognized in the slightest slapped his arse and winked at him he was shocked at such behaviour, however when he reported the muggle to Harry he simply laughed and said, "Forget about it, dance with me."

Now there was what Draco thought to be dancing and then there was what was going on in the Pink Flamingo that night, dancing to Draco had always been the poetic movement of the body with another, an art form that he had been taught from a young age, however what Harry was doing was by far the dancing that Lucius often referred to as dirty dancing, suitable only for low lives and prostitutes.

Draco had soon realized after stepping foot inside the club that the waltz and the tango and even the salsa were not the kinds of dancing that you did when you went clubbing, and as Harry would tell him in the future those dances were for rich, old, boring or all of the above people.

It was hard enough to find a rhythm, mostly it was found for you as you were jostled about by the many people trying to dance on the crowded dance floor, Harry, who was far more practiced at clubbing than Draco was amazed those surrounding them and turned Draco on immensely.

Neither teen was short of offers that night, in fact even with the concealment charms still firmly in place they managed to draw the most attention out of any of the men there that night, even the bar staff were hitting on them. Draco was astounded when a particularly forceful young man who continuously approached him requesting oral sex was forced to leave him alone when Harry wrapped his body around him and claimed that he was Harry's boyfriend.

At five that morning the bar closed and the last song was played, drunk and unable to walk in a straight line Harry and Draco made for the exit, Harry was laughing hysterically for a reason that Draco was oblivious to.

How they managed to find their way back to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry in Scotland all the way from muggle London without getting lost, splinched or attacked was beyond either of them when they woke up fully clothed and in the same bed the next morning with the song 'because your gorgeous' stuck in their heads.

It perplexed Draco why he had a new tattoo of a vampire bite on the small of his neck, he was also surprised that Harry seemed to have a tongue piercing. The cloud of confusion soon lifted and the amusement of the situation set in causing the two of them to burst into hysterical fits of laughter.

"I am glad that at least the two of you find the situation amusing, after myself, Severus and Minerva searched endlessly for you until Hagrid alerted us as you made your way up the path to the castle." Headmaster Dumbledore said from the entrance to their room.

Both teens immediately stopped laughing; however it was an effort not to continue, especially with flashes of memory working there way back. Draco's head was pounding but he couldn't help but laugh, it was even harder not to giggle as Dumbledore continued his boring rant about safety and responsibility, especially when Draco realised that Harry wasn't the only one who had been pierced.

Draco's left nipple was aching somewhat and when he looked down he saw what looked to be a simple nipple ring showing through his t-shirt.

"Headmaster, would it be possible if we could get some privacy so we could prepare for class, of course we would report to you after dinner if that was what you wanted." Harry said withholding a fresh bout of laughter.

"Very well, however promptly after dinner I expect you both in my office without fail and I also expect for the both of you to attend all of your classes today with no excuses." Dumbledore said and before either Harry or Draco could say anything more he swept from the room in an obvious huff.

"Lift up your shirt." Harry demanded as soon as the entrance had sealed itself, Draco did as Harry requested and they both admired the nipple ring and then the tattoo on his neck.

Harry's tongue piercing wasn't the only thing he'd had done either, on the small of his back was a beautifully done sun in yellows, reds and orange. "You can always tell that it was a good night when you wake with body art and a piercing that you didn't have the previous day." Harry told Draco as he rolled out of bed. "Wanna flip for the shower?" Draco nodded.

Harry called heads and won leaving Draco to wonder whether or not he had cheated and also to use one of the more effective spells that copied the effects of a shower but wasn't quite as refreshing.

It was rather worrying when Draco realised that his uniform was not about to hide the new tattoo and covering it with a plaster was bound to make more questions arise rather than stop them but he was rather relived when Harry was found to be having the same trouble with the tongue piercing.

In the end they rushed to their Defence Against the Dark Arts class without concealment charms or anything to cover the forgotten deeds of that night. The other Gryffindor's who all took DADA were horrified when they saw Harry enter with Draco and couldn't stop staring at the two of them. They had all been notified of Harry and Draco's disappearing act last night and no one was impressed.

Class commenced as usual but no one was really paying any attention, they were all far too busy eyeing Harry and Draco who had sat together at the back of the classroom, the betrayal too fresh in Harry's mind for him to even consider sitting with his so called friends.

In Harry's mind it was betrayal, nothing more and certainly nothing less, deep down he knew that they were worried about him but it was the fact that they cared more for their own lives that got to him. If they were so concerned then they would have come with him, backed him up when he needed them, not run straight to the headmaster and reported him.

Draco sat there overly aware that everyone was staring at them, glowering disapprovingly, it was fortunate that no one had spotted the tattooed bite marks on his neck yet but he knew it would come soon enough.

It was overly clear that no one approved of him or even believed that he was no longer a follower of the Dark Lord. What neither Harry nor Draco were expecting was to be cornered by them after class, Hermione and Ron were the ring leaders of the group and everyone fell in behind them.

Draco was overly intimidated by this large group of Gryffindor's but Harry just looked at them all with a look of pure annoyance on his face.

"Who are you Harry?" Hermione asked being the first to speak, it was an odd sort of question to be asked but it seemed to prove to Harry that his friends were not as close to him as they once were.

"I'm Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, the saviour of the wizarding world, the chosen one. I thought that you knew that already Hermione." Harry asked somewhat sarcastically, "I'm the one who is in the shit and you can't seem to handle that, I always knew this day would come and your loyalty to me would be tested, I knew that there was a limited amount of time before you realised that you didn't have to be in the same shit as me."

"You know full well that if you let us we will forever stand by your side, whatever stupid thing you decide is your battle to fight but we refuse to fight for him, he's branded by the Dark Lord or are you too blind to see that Harry?" Hermione pointed out in her annoying matter of fact tone of voice.

"Yes but so am I" Harry said shocking them all, "I may not carry the Dark Mark but I am still marked by him," Harry said referring to his scar, "Tom and I have so many things in common that if I wanted to be the next Dark Lord I could be but I'm not, I'm not evil and neither is Draco but by the way your behaving I wouldn't put it past you to be."

"How dare you accuse us of being allied with him," Ron added in outrage, Draco wasn't sure he liked where this conversation was going, he knew that it wasn't about to end well.

"Then don't accuse me." Harry said pointedly, Hermione and Ron were looking scarily angry but there was no way that he would step down from this fight and leave Harry alone to fight his friends, he may have been a Slytherin but he was no coward.

"We weren't, we were merely stating that we don't trust Draco and we don't understand why you do." Hermione pointed out trying desperately to remain calm, she was forever the level headed one in the situation but Ron, with his fiery temper wasn't about to let it lie, Draco could see it in his eyes.

"He's a Slytherin and he's branded!" Ron needlessly pointed out.

"Look I've already told you that I trust Draco and I know that it's difficult to accept him, especially after everything that has happened between us in the past but it isn't fair to judge him solely on that, we've all done wrong to each other and if you can't put it behind you then your useless to me."

"I'm sorry you feel that way Harry," Hermione said sadly, "If we are truly useless to you then we'll leave you alone, but when he betrays you, and he will, just remember that we warned you."

Harry rolled his eyes turned on his heel and walked out dragging Draco along behind him, Seamus, Dean, Parvati and Lavender watched them go and felt as if some part of them was leaving also, Ron and Hermione were far too annoyed at him to feel anything like that.

Draco remained silent all the way up to his room next to Gryffindor tower, Harry did also, it was lunch time but neither felt up to eating. The way Harry was feeling he wouldn't be eating dinner either. Draco's head was still throbbing and meals were not exactly high on his list of priorities either. They had only managed not to throw up due to the fact that they hadn't eaten.

Harry slumped onto the sofa face down and stayed there perfectly still, Draco was at a loss of what to do, he wasn't sure whether Harry wanted to be alone or have some company. Thinking fast he went over to his trunk and brought out a bottle of Ogden's Old Fire whiskey.

"I know it's a little early but let's forget about what Dumbledore said and skip classes for the day." Draco offered smiling; Harry looked up, spotted the bottle and grinned.

"You know me far too well, you're on." He said in response rolling off of the sofa and hitting the floor with a heavy thud. It was fortunate that the stone was covered with a fluffy white rug otherwise there certainly would have been bruises.

Harry withdrew the cigarettes from his pocket, sat up, lit one and then chucked them onto the table so that Draco could help himself, which he did. As the blonde removed his school robes Harry put up a ward at the door for extra security, now no one was going to bother them.

He shrugged off his uniform and threw it over the sofa leaving only his white shirt and black trousers in place, through the material of the shirt Harry could barely see the outline of the nipple ring, it made Harry think of Draco in an entirely new light.

Draco watched as Harry toyed with his tongue piercing as he sat down beside him so that they were both leaning back against the base of the sofa facing towards the fire taking it in turns to take swigs of the whiskey.

"I'm sorry about the way my so called friends acted; I thought that they would take it better than they did." Harry admitted before taking a drag from his cigarette and exhaling the smoke via his mouth and nose.

Draco swallowed his mouthful of whiskey, enjoying the sensation of the intoxicating liquid burning it's way down his throat. "You shouldn't have to apologise for them, you don't control their actions, I'm just glad you didn't turn against me, it's a great weight off my mind to know that my mum and sister are safe."

"You know if I had a choice I wouldn't be the boy-who-lived." Harry stated bluntly, the alcohol steadily working its way through his system, relaxing him and very slowly getting him drunk.

"Would any one?" Draco asked in response and Harry laughed.

"Probably not, I was dealt a shitty hand in life but I've never let that stop me and I never will, there is life outside of this war and I'm determined to find it." Harry told Draco as he gulped down Ogden's Old Fire Whiskey in extraordinarily large amounts.

"You have an amazing strength." Draco said before he even realised what he was saying, Harry looked at him with an amused expression, Draco felt a tingle of nerves in the pit of his stomach as the amused look turned into something else, it was almost lustful but Draco didn't dare to believe.

Draco's heart seemed to skip a beat as Harry leaned towards him a fraction, just as their lips were about to meet there was a mass of green flames in the fireplace and a very irritated Dumbledore stepped out of the fire place. The two boy's jumped apart at once but neither bothered to try and hide the obvious traces of alcohol and cigarettes.

"When I told you that I expected you to be in all of your classes today I meant it Harry and as a result I am going to have to take action." The headmaster said sternly, "And barricading the door closed is yet another rule broken, along with skipping class, drinking and smoking on school grounds, leaving the school after curfew, it will not do Harry."

"What are you going to do, expel me?" Harry said with a smile, "You know full well that you can't do that." He said mockingly.

"You may be an important factor in this war Harry but do not think you are above the rules of this school, you are an adult now and should act as such."

"Excuse me for asking" Harry said getting unsteadily to his feet, "But when have I ever been allowed to act as anything but, I've been fighting for life against pretty much everything, I have never once been allowed to just be a child." Harry snapped defensively.

"We have been lenient with you up until this point Harry but I am afraid that you have taken advantage of this fact, you may be important to the war effort but you are not essential." Albus went on to say, Draco listened intently to the headmaster speak, unable to believe that the words were coming from his mouth.

"Do you really think that you can fight this war without me?" Harry said with amusement in his voice, it was clear that he found the idea laughable, "Okay then, let's see how well you do without the chosen one to fight your battles, maybe you might do the fighting yourself, but let's not ask for miracles."

"Harry James Potter, if you walk out of this school don't even think about coming back." Dumbledore warned, Draco doubted that the headmaster was ever going to fulfil this threat but he was desperate, he couldn't force Harry to stay, after all he was now of age, he didn't have to remain in Hogwarts if he chose not to.

"I won't have to, you'll be begging me to come back once the wizarding world knows that I'm gone." Harry stated, "We'll see how many lives are on your head when I'm not there to save the day." Harry then turned to Draco, "What do you say, wanna have some real fun?"

Draco looked momentarily shocked but nodded all the same; Harry offered his hand to the blonde and pulled him up. They didn't bother with their robes, it was a nice day out, they wouldn't need them and anything they did need they could buy as they went.

Dumbledore was looking horrified at what he had done; Draco couldn't help but smirk at him as they left their room, leaving the headmaster too shocked to form words, let alone stop them. Harry was right; they wouldn't survive long without him around.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I've just finished work and I'm off to Uni tomorrow so I will hopefully have some more free time to write now considering the fact that I'm doing a creative writing course. I hope that you liked this chapter, don't forget to leave me a review as it really does make my day. Phoebe


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Harry and Draco burst though the grand oak doors and walked out, descending the stone steps to freedom. It wasn't as dramatic an exit as the Weasley twins had made in Harry's fifth year but it caused as much if not more havoc.

Students stopped and stared as the two walked out, teachers did nothing to stop them and neither looked back as they walked down the sloping grounds, past the quidditch pitch and out the school gates.

Draco wasn't entirely sure of what the reactions were that day at the school but eye witness reports said that all hell had broken loose, panic had settled in and the students were starting to pack their belongings.

Oblivious to this Harry and Draco walked down the cobbled streets of Hogsmead, neither had property that they could seek refuge in, none of the Malfoy estates would be safe and Harry was not going to show up on the Dursley's doorstep with Draco in tow and beg for a place to sleep.

All they had were the clothes on their back and Harry's overly large Gringotts bank account, which if they were honest would last them both three lifetimes over so their first stop was to be Diagon Alley.

With it only being just past lunch time they were in no rush to do anything, it was still sinking in for both of them that they were free of Hogwarts, however it had meant giving up the security that the castle had provided. No hotel room was going to be as safe but Harry had already started to form a plan in his mind.

"Do you fancy some lunch?" Harry suggested as they slowly passed a small café type shop next to the post office. It wasn't too busy and it was nice enough to sit outside and enjoy the last of the summer sun.

"Why not" Draco responded, he was craving to take hold of Harry's hand but he reframed, blaming the Fire Whiskey flowing through him for these thoughts. They entered the simple café that had been decorated in reds and whites and ordered two toasted cheese sandwiches before taking a seat on the patio chairs outside.

The September sun was weak against their backs but there was slight warmth to it that they enjoyed immensely. Both felt entirely relaxed but did not dare start talking until the smiley witch that was serving them had delivered their food to them and scurried off back inside to watch from afar.

"There is one thing that I have to do, something that will show Dumbledore that I'm not just disappearing for the night and I'll be back in the morning, it's time to show him what life without me would be like." Harry said, "I want to do an interview for the Daily Prophet and I want Rita Skeeter to write it."

Draco was shocked by this revelation; he had never thought in a million years that Harry would want that horrible woman to write anything for him, the reputation between the two wasn't exactly savoury.

"What exactly do you want her to write; it isn't as if you can expect her to tell the truth." Draco pointed out and he was very right in doing so. Rita Skeeter had not only worsened as the years went on but she had got smarter, picking her targets carefully and leaving Harry Potter well alone no matter what the ministry said.

"That's the point though, she'll take whatever I say and make the situation seem ten times worse, which is why it has to be her that writes it. Believe me when the article comes out it will well worth it."

"I believe you, the news that Harry Potter is gone is most likely going to cause uproar, especially towards Dumbledore if you mention the fact that it was he who pretty much forced you from the castle and said that you were no longer welcome there." Draco said with the trademark Malfoy smirk on his face.

"Exactly, he'll be begging me to come back to the castle, but that's only if he can find me first, he may be a hot shot in the wizarding world but in the muggle world he's nothing and that's exactly where we're going. A place where no one recognizes me or respects him."

"The wizarding world won't know what's hit it and if we get a meeting with her today we'll make the morning prophet." Draco said happily.

"Let's let him stew a little first, what's the fun in causing all the trouble in one go, for today we'll get sorted, find a place to stay and get completely and utterly wasted, then tomorrow we'll find Skeeter." Harry said finishing off his sandwich. "First however I need to swing by my Aunt and Uncle's, I left something there that could be of use to us."

Draco wasn't about to disagree with Harry's course of action and happily allowed him to take a hold of him and apperate him away once they had finished and paid for lunch. Where they ended up Draco had no clue, but he was sure that it was a muggle neighbourhood, when Draco voiced his curiousness to where they were Harry responded: "Where I was dragged up."

This seemed to be an odd sort of term to use referring to his childhood but Draco didn't question it, he knew very little about Harry's life before Hogwarts and he didn't want to upset Harry by asking questions.

Harry led him down Privet Drive and up the gravel path of number four; nosy neighbours were staring through netted curtains slightly pulled back so they could peek round them.

Parked in the drive way was an overly fancy car that looked as if it had been shined recently, the garden was immaculate, the grass trimmed to perfection, the hydrangeas clipped into tidiness. There was nothing about the house that was messy or damaged, it was creepy it was so perfect.

Harry strode up to the front door and rang the door bell, after a few moments where no one answered Harry got tired of waiting, subtlety withdrew his wand and muttered the unlocking spell, there was a soft click and the door opened to them.

Harry faltered, looking worried. "What's wrong?" Draco asked once seeing the expression etched upon his face.

"The car is in the drive way and the door was locked." Harry said quietly.

"Maybe they went for a walk or they went on holiday." Draco said not really understanding the snort of laughter that Harry couldn't contain at the thought of his Uncle going for a walk.

"You obviously don't know my Aunt and Uncle, just be careful and be alert," Harry warned as they stepped inside the front door.

The hallway was lit with afternoon sunshine; it gleamed from the mirror sending beams of light reflecting off the white walls. There was a feeling of unease about this place that Draco didn't like and his feelings were confirmed when a strong metallic smell greeted them as they went further into the house.

There was a layer of dust on everything, Draco took no notice of this but Harry knew that it was not a good sign, not with his house proud aunt so anal about the cleaning. The living room, kitchen and dinning area downstairs were all free of clues and looked as if no one had lived there for a good few days. Next the two of them ventured upstairs where the smell became stronger and more sickening.

Harry went in first, slowly and cautiously he ventured into his Aunt and Uncle's bedroom, what they were to see inside made Draco gag, and despite the fact that it was Harry's own family he didn't even flinch.

Draco couldn't stand to stay in the same room so Harry asked him to check the other bedrooms and the bathroom, Dudley's room was empty, he had obviously been at boarding school when it had occurred and Harry's room had been trashed.

"Petunia and Vernon had a particularly nasty curse put on them, I can't remember what it's called but its purpose is to turn oneself inside out, they're dead and have been for a while. The Dark Mark is also burned on to the ceiling so we know who the culprit was; it also means that it isn't safe here."

"That bedroom is untouched" Draco said motioning towards Dudley's room, "And that one is completely trashed." Harry immediately entered his room to find that Draco had put it lightly, everything had been turned upside down, furniture and all.

"This was my room," Harry explained as he pushed his upturned bed out of the way and shoved some old school papers aside so that he could gain access to the floor boards. He went down onto his knees and pried up one of the boards before delving his hand into the dark space below. "And lucky for me they didn't find what they were looking for." Harry said with a grin bringing out an antique looking tome.

"What is it?" Draco asked sounding fascinated, even with his fathers own extensive collection of magical texts that he had familiarised himself with he had never once before seen this one.

"It is an ancient magic spell book, dating all the way back to the Druids and Pagan's of before Henry VII and the wars of the roses. It is one of the most precious magical artefacts known to the wizarding community." Harry explained.

"And how is it that this precious book came to be in amongst your property?" Draco asked him as he replaced the floor boards so no one that came later would know that anything was removed.

There was a loud crash from downstairs that sounded like glass breaking; Harry placed a finger to his lips, motioning for Draco to be quite. Harry got to his feet in such a fashion that he made no noise and withdrew his wand, then as quietly as possible he put up an undetectable silencing charm around the room.

Harry then gripped Draco's hand within his own and apparated them away. Whoever had been downstairs wouldn't have played nicely having discovered them at the scene of a crime with no evidence that it wasn't them that committed it, or if it had been a deatheater or another witch or wizard then things wouldn't have gone any better.

Draco looked around and realised that Harry had apparated them into an ally, whether this was intentional or not he didn't ask, he wasn't about to question what on earth they were doing in an ally in the middle of the afternoon, although there were some wicked ideas for what they _could _be doing down a dark ally in the middle of the afternoon going though Draco's mind currently.

"This way" Harry said breaking Draco from his rather pleasant train of thought that included a number of things that they could occupy themselves with in their current location, Draco followed him to the opening and saw that they were now on a muggle street, which explained the empty ally.

"Where are we?" Draco asked as they inconspicuously exited their hiding place and joined the flow of people with bags of shopping, Harry clutching the book tightly to his chest as if his life depended upon it.

"London" Harry told him as he quickened the walking pace, Draco knew that he meant muggle London, the two of them were far too easy to pick out in a crowd so Draco hurried after Harry not complaining about the fast pace.

Suddenly Harry took a turn and Draco followed leading them into a small lobby of a hotel, it wasn't overly posh but it looked comfortable enough. The Lobby itself was unfurnished apart from a couple of old looking arm chairs opposite the check in desk.

There was an old, grumpy looking woman standing behind the desk a book in hand, she barely even acknowledged the two of them. When Harry approached her, without even bothering to look up she said, "We don't do hourly rates if you want a room you pay for a night."

"We were actually looking to spend a week here" Harry said pointedly, "We want a large twin room on the first floor." He instructed, at this point the woman bookmarked her place and put the book down.

"May I take your name and details, a deposit of fifty pounds is required in case of loss or damage of motel property." The grumpy muggle woman said, "You will be given a key to the front door and your room but it is frowned upon to be coming and going between the hours of midnight and six."

"The name is Cameron Shan, we have business to take care of near by and the lateness of our hours can on occasion be unavoidable but of course we will be respectful of other guests and come and go quietly." Harry said handing the woman what looked to Draco to be a flat plastic thing. "How many other guests are here currently?"

"There are three couples and a young family." The woman responded taking the card Harry had handed her. When she handed it back she also gave them two sets of keys. "Your room is number 8, through the doors behind you and it's the room on the far left." She instructed before picking up her book and allowing them to get on with it.

Neither Harry nor Draco thanked her, she had been curt and verging on rude so the two of them just turned and began to follow the woman's directions. The room in which they found themselves in was only just bigger than the room Harry had occupied in Privet Drive.

Everything was either cream or white and the bathroom had a horrid pink suite and very little space to move around in. It certainly wasn't the nicest of rooms and Draco, used to the luxury that the riches of the Malfoy's could afford was disgusted by it.

"It isn't much but it's a nice place, I've stayed here a couple of times before and it pretty much goes unnoticed a lot of the time." Harry said as Draco glanced around looking disgusted. "Plus I don't want us to be spending much time here anyway, take tonight for instance, we're going out."

"And where is it that you intend on taking me as I have no idea where we are or the kind of bars that they have around here." Draco said looking directly into Harry's emerald green eyes and feeling a fluttering in the pit of his stomach.

Draco didn't know how it was that he was going to survive living with Harry while plagued with his teenage hormones, the teen now standing before him was driving him mad and he didn't even know it.

"Where we're going comes later, first things first is shopping, we have to get some clothes, not that school uniform isn't very becoming but it isn't very practical." It was one of the things that Harry lived for, shopping.

It was a shame however that they had not changed their appearances before checking in, however it was something that they were going to have to live with, of course that didn't mean that they weren't going to make changes, it wasn't worth the risk of being recognized.

Harry magically hid his scar and the Dark Mark on Draco's arm before deciding that some slightly more complex magic was in order. To all muggles they would appear as they normally would but to witches and wizards (except one another) they looked like Cameron and Max.

The next move was to head out for the shops, on their way out they didn't even bother to acknowledge the check in lady who was still sat there with her book. As for Harry's book he had cloaked it and hidden it well within the room not to mention erected a fair few locking, anti-apparition and security spells on and around the room.

Draco couldn't yet understand the full value of this book but he appreciated that Harry protected this book with his life and therefore it must hold more worth than the entire of Gringotts bank.

From experience Draco knew not to ask questions, his father had taught him that after many beatings, if Harry wanted him to know then he would tell him so he pushed the matter with the book no further and allowed Harry to take him shopping.

Muggle London was a far cry from Madame Malkin's in Diagon Alley; the clothing range that Harry was purchasing for them both was weird, wonderful and classy all at the same time. Outfit after outfit was tried on and purchased. The most outrageous shoes were bought and accessories obtained through the excessive use of Harry's plastic card.

They didn't stop until it was well into the evening and the shops were about to close, at which point the two of them struggled back to their motel room weighed down with at least a hundred odd bags each. The amount of items they had bought was ridiculous even by Draco's standards and he was a spoilt little rich kid.

The check in woman had obviously gone off shift as there was a young, friendly looking man behind the desk now, he was looking slightly bored but smiled as they came in.

"Hey, Cameron, mum told me you'd checked in earlier, wow, you've been shopping I see, that's certainly a load, need a hand?" He offered politely with a huge grin on his face.

"No thanks Reese, I'm sure we'll be ok but thank you anyway, we'll see you later, are you working tonight or will you be going down to the Pink Flamingo?" Harry asked paused in the lobby, Draco standing behind him propping the door open feeling slightly ignored.

"I'm on till eleven; I'll join you guys down there, who's your friend Cameron?" Reese asked eyeing Draco with suspicion, Draco glowered at him wishing that Harry would hurry up, the jealousy that was about to go into over drive was going to make him insane, they weren't even an item and he was getting jealous when other men spoke to Harry.

"This is Draco, he's a friend, he'll be down at the Flamingo tonight, anyway we have to go get ready, see you down there." Reese nodded and waved goodbye, Harry smiled and returned the nod before following Draco down the hall to their room.

"A friend of yours?" Draco asked as they clumsily fell into the room and threw all of their bags onto the bed. Harry turned to him and raised an amused eyebrow at the blonde.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that you were jealous Draco Malfoy." Harry said with a faint trace of a smile showing at the corner of his lips. At once Draco's heart soared, the fluttering returned in the pit of his stomach and he could feel heat rising up his neck and onto his cheeks. "Get ready to go out; I'm going for a shower." Harry said deciding that watching Draco blush, while being entertaining it was also making him want to jump him there and then.

Draco watched as Harry hurried into the bathroom, he left the door slightly ajar but unfortunately for Draco he couldn't see anything of interest. He heard the water start and the glass shower door close.

At that moment Draco let out the breath he didn't know that he had been holding. Harry, he was certain, had a mission to drive him to a point of insanity. He turned and began to rummage through his bags in hope of finding a distraction and also being ready to go when Harry emerged from the shower.

It was amazing how much stuff they had actually managed to buy in the few short hours that they had been shopping, he removed a pair leather trousers from one of the bags and looked at them wondering whether or not he'd actually manage to fit in them.

Deciding to give it a go he began to strip down to his boxers, it was while he was contemplating what top to wear when Harry emerged wearing nothing but a towel. His hair was still wet, droplets dripping onto his nicely toned chest and back.

The sight of it made Draco's jaw drop, Harry looked practically edible, a god in a white towel. "Could you turn around while I put my boxers on, I forgot to take a pair into the bathroom with me."

"Oh, of course, sorry." Draco said getting embarrassed all over again, this would not do, he couldn't go on with this much longer he was practically dying to throw Harry down on to the floor and shag him into next week.

"You can look now." Harry said and Draco turned around to find him in a pair of black silk boxers. "Decided what to wear yet then?" Draco shook his head.

It took them near enough an hour and a half before they finally had decided what it was that they were going to wear. Harry had chosen leather trousers that were skin tight paired with knee high new rock boots along with a plain black tee. Draco on the other hand preferred figure hugging navy jeans with a black netted tank top and similar boots to Harry's.

Paired together they looked both gorgeous and dangerous. Harry couldn't remember ever feeling so sexy in his entire life; he couldn't remember ever thinking about a guy in the same way that he was currently thinking of Draco.

Draco was having the same problem, just looking at Harry's figure hugging outfit made him want to throw him down onto the floor and have his wicked way with him right there and then.

At the end of the third day and Draco was shocked at how much had happened, a part of him wanted to just stop and take it all in, give himself time to breath but the other part of him, that was by far the more dominant and bossy, screamed that if he didn't go out with Harry tonight then he may miss the perfect opportunity to make his move.

As usual the pink flamingo was bustling with gay and curious men, the volume of the music almost unbearable but the atmosphere was buzzing. The bouncer waved them in without the mention of queuing with the others which made Draco wonder how often Harry came here.

They were greeted by an older man who shook Harry's hand before turning to Draco and eyeing him up and down. "I see that you've brought us some fresh blood Cameron, he's certainly edible, where did you find him?"

"I can't give away my secrets Jasper, you know that, but if you buy me a drink I may just be persuaded to tell you." Harry said in a very flirtatious tone that made the little green monster inside of Draco flare into overdrive.

"For the price of a drink I may have to take you up on that offer, however tonight I'll have to pass, I'll allow you to have fun with Blondie here, he looks like he knows how to have a good time." The young and handsome man, apparently called Jasper said.

"We'll see you later." Harry said giving Jasper a kiss on the cheek before linking arms with Draco and dragging him towards the bar.

"And who was that?" Draco asked as Harry placed an order for drinks.

"He's the manager of this place, he so wants to fuck my brains out but I've been turning him down ever since I started coming here." Harry explained as they were given two extremely gay looking cocktails.

"Oh really so he's not going to like me very much now is he." Draco said removing his drink from the bar and taking a sip.

"And why is that?" Harry asked intrigued.

"Because I'm his competition," Harry raised an amused eyebrow at this statement but he said nothing, instead he downed his drink and watched as Draco did the same.

Harry took Draco's hand within his own and led him to the centre of the dance floor where they attempted to find a rhythm. It was after an hour of rubbing very close to each other and touching each other that Draco snaked an arm around Harry's waist and pulled him closer.

Their lips only inches apart now they slowed their dancing down, both were hot and coated in a layer of sweat that made their skin glisten in the light from the disco ball that rotated above them.

An over enthusiastic dancer moving past Harry accidentally knocked the back of Harry and their lips met. First the kiss was almost non-existent until Draco took the chance and parted Harry's lips with his tongue.

So shocked at the suddenness of the kiss Harry allowed Draco's tongue to freely explore while kissing the other teen back just as passionately. Their first passionate embrace a complete accident but one that felt so right for them both.

They heard a number of cat calls directed at the two of them from others on the dance floor, many disappointed that the two cutest guys now seemed to be an item. Draco's heart was beating twice as hard as it should normally, he couldn't believe that after so little time he had actually managed to kiss Harry Potter.

Both were grinning ear to ear as they parted, Draco, unsure of what to say or do next said: "I'll go and get some drinks." Harry nodded and continued to dance.

Draco strolled confidentially to the bar prepared to order something with an extremely high alcohol content to steady his nerves. He had just passionately kissed Harry James Potter!

As Draco made his way back to the dance floor with two pink coloured drinks he spotted his beloved Harry Potter standing in the middle of the dance floor kissing another man.

* * *

Sorry this took a while, I've just moved into University and the internet connection has only just been installed. But fear not chapter six is being written as you read this no doubt. Phoebe xxx


End file.
